I can’t quite believe it myself, but Christmas Eve is two weeks from today. You should be moving into end game on your preparations. This is crunch time. But if you survive this week, it's all easy from here!

By the end of this week:

• You should mail out your cards.
• You should complete your shopping.  
• You should ship any gifts that you cannot deliver personally. Shipping this week means shorter lines in the post office and less chance that you’ll have to pay expedited shipping charges.
• Finalize your menus for holiday meals and purchase all non-perishable ingredients. 
• If you haven’t done your decorating, you at least need a timeline. 
• Start wrapping the gifts you’ve already purchased. 
• Get into the habit of doing a quick tidy and declutter each day so the house will be prepared for folks to drop in.As you receive Christmas cards, check the addresses and update your card list as necessary.

You’re in the home stretch. If you’ve been following this countdown from the beginning, you should be just about ready for the holidays!